Study: Teen pregnancy, infant mortality rates down in Delco

Teenage pregnancy, infant mortality and childhood asthma hospitalization rates are falling in Delaware County, according to a report released Wednesday by the Public Citizens for Children and Youth.

The number of Delaware County children without health insurance also decreased by 16 percent during a four-year stretch ending in 2012. About 96 percent of Delaware County’s 130,000 children have health insurance.

“We were pleased to find out that most Delaware County children are growing up healthy,” PCCY Health Director Colleen McCauley said. “This puts them at a great advantage to perform in school.”

However, the report found that about 40 percent of Delaware County children are enrolled in the state’s Medical Assistance or CHIP programs, the highest rate among Southeastern Pennsylvania’s four suburban counties.

The report also suggested that many of the county’s 4,792 uninsured children are likely eligible but not enrolled for such programs.

“We think insurance is an important pathway for children to stay healthy,” McCauley said. “We’d love to see the county work with the districts and the state to reinvigorate the campaign to get every kid insured.”

The report noted the Affordable Health Care Act requires states to make Medical Assistance available to children ages 6-18 whose family income is at or below 133 percent of the poverty line.

The report also found the county’s teen birth rate declined by 16 percent from 2007-2011. There were 32.2 teenage births per 1,000 births in 2011.

The county’s infant mortality rate dropped by about 8 percent during the same span, the report said. The rate of 6.5 per 1,000 live births matched the statewide rate in 2011.

Joanne Craig, administrative director of women and children’s health services for Crozer-Keystone Health System, credited efforts like Crozer’s Healthy Start and Nurse-Family Partnership programs for helping reduce those rates. She noted a variety of other collaborative initiatives also have helped.

“It takes a collective effort to see these kinds of improvement in women’s and children’s health,” Craig said.

Though the three rates fell, they remained higher than rates in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

However, Delaware County was the only of the four suburban counties to see its childhood obesity and overweight rate fall from 2008-2012, according to the report. The rate fell by 16 percent. About 32 percent of Delco children were obese or overweight in 2012, a rate the report judged as high.

McCauley said she regretted the report did not include information regarding behavioral and mental health. She said sufficient data is not available.

“From where we sit, children’s mental health is critical,” McCauley said. “It can’t be separated from their physical health. We’re also calling on county leaders to push state leaders to report mental health data.”

The PCCY report, dubbed “The Bottom Line is Children: Children’s Health Status in Delaware County,” was the third in a series of four reports analyzing Delaware County children. Previous reports focused on education and poverty.